I recently pulled my scooter, my motocha, up to a gas pump. An insouciant young man mumbled the requisite questions and began to fill my gas tank. I asked him a first and then a second time how he was. The request finally sparkled something in him. He stared at me with psychotic intensity. “I am fine!” he responded in clear and precise English “Why?” This happened to be one of those moments that the answer was readily at hand. “It is such a beautiful day and you don’t look happy,” I replied. He intently focused on me, finished his task, said nothing, and walked away. As I drove down the street, I felt an acute sense of failure. I had been completely unsuccessful in conveying even a morsel of joy to that young man. My standard insecurities lashed at me: “Here you are the ‘great teacher’ and you cannot make one unhappy boy smile?” The answer, of course, is that nothing is wrong with you as an educator. The pedagogue cannot change a person’s mood or attitude: only the self can do that.
I am reminded of the Sadhguru’s question (to paraphrase): “Where am I standing?” A funny inquiry, you may think. “You are standing right in front of me,” is the standard response. The answer is a little more esoteric, however. “In reality, I am standing inside of you. You are taking me into your brain through your optic nerves. You are then analyzing me in tandem with your age and historical experience. Whether you see me as fat or thin; tall or short; smart or stupid is a product of your mind.” You only know yourself 100%. You must be responsible for the change in you. But, I am not you, am I? I looked for the easy apology: Yes, I had failed to ignite his imagination, but he also had an obligation to assist me in my task. In short, he liked being unhappy and lazy. He is not my responsibility, is he? But this is fallacious thinking. It is true: I am not my brother’s keeper; he is the keeper of the self. That being said, I am my brother’s brother. (1) Every human being is the responsibility of the other because we are all a part of the same human family. “You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individual. To that end, each of us must work for his personal improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.” (2) How then do we educate, how do we impart knowledge? The true answer is through, example. If you act in a certain way, hold yourself to a certain ethical standard, others will follow and attempt to emulate a certain aspect of your behavior. (3)The great friar, preacher, saint, and teacher, St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), leaves us with a thought: The deeds you do today may be the only sermon some persons will hear. (4)
A closing thought: My first permanent part-time job while I attended high school was working in a gas station. The term gas station is a misnomer because we also repaired cars and fixed tires, as well as “pumped gas.” Our area was an isolated tourist resort. In the summer time it was filled with people from, literally, all over the world. I remember that we were busy from morning till night. There was no time to pout or to feel sorry for yourself or to ponder the vagaries of the future. Work was held in the same esteem as prayer, which was also popular in my village. You felt honored to actually have a job because it gave you spending money, an allowance from your parents being unheard of. One of my great joys with my funds was to be able to buy some of the girls in our class a cup of coffee and chips (French fries) at our local establishment, Alfie’s, on my days off – usually Monday and Tuesday nights. I bought my popularity, but at sixteen it seemed to work. I often feel that young people today are cheated out of a unique experience without a part-time job. Here you learn about money, that evil boss — the capitalist, and you learn about people as consumers. It is a time that is certainly not all good, but also not all bad. It assists in your maturity. It certainly did in mine. Most importantly of all, it sears in your mind the realization that you do not want to seek full-time employment after university as a wage slave, selling your time for money. You want something more, even if you do not know what it is.
To sum up: This week we spoke about disliking work. We explored some of the problems that exist if you hate your employment life and hope to change it. We also spoke about the need to be “a leader among men” and to lead by example. The only person you can change is yourself: you can only influence others.
An amusing occurrence: Ours was a very isolated village. At nineteen, I had finished high school and didn’t know what to do. Work being such a part of the culture, there was no thought given to a gap year, or year-off, before university: there was no university for working-class people. This was a distant and confusing concept. There was work and, well, work. I had a job at a local television and stereo store selling electronic items, both big and small. I had found my calling: salesman. I felt, nonetheless, unfulfilled. One day, one of my work colleagues, a Hungarian, said that he was going to Budapest for the summer and would I like to come? I remember thinking, “Why would you name a country after a body condition – hunger? I am hungry! My sense of adventure was too strong: I went. I have been back to my village twice in the last forty-five years. The world became just too big.
Just for fun : Gregorian chants from Assisi
This week, please remember your first job. Did you enjoy it?
Every day look for something magical and beautiful.
Quote: All great teachers can be destroyed by arrogance and hubris.
Footnotes:
1) Dear President Obama: I’m Only My Brother’s Keeper If My Brother Is My Sheep
2) Marie Curie — Secret Studies In Warsaw